A story in which we get adventure AND parents get to live AND be involved? Indeed, this rare sort of book does not come along often, and I very much enjoyed the story. (I had been noticing for a while how quickly TenNapel books circulate at our middle school library, and finally decided to give his stuff a try. Glad I did.)
P.S. I also enjoyed Cardboard, by the same author. Sadly, the hero has lost one parent in that story; happily, the remaining parent still gets to be involved with the adventure, while not completely taking over it.